This invention relates generally to reel winding apparatus, and more particularly to apparatus for winding continuously feed flexible strand onto reels.
Reel winding apparatus of a type to which the present invention relates takes in continuously delivered strand and winds it in predetermined lengths onto successive reels for its convenient storage and transport until put to its ultimate use. Reel winding apparatus to which the present invention relates, more particularly, is of the type having provision for removably supporting two reels side-by-side, one reel being wound at a time until full whereupon the other reel is wound while the full reel is removed from the apparatus and replaced by an empty reel to be wound next. The reels in the apparatus are separately power driven under suitable control and the stock is directed onto the respective reels in orderly layers by a traverse means which moves back and forth for this purpose, and which also crosses over from the winding relation with each full reel into winding relation with the adjacent empty reel so as to maintain the strand winding operation on a continuous basis. To this end, the drive of the empty reel is started when the other reel is still winding so that both reels will be driven when the latter reel is fully wound and the traverse means has crossed over into winding relation with the empty reel. In previous reel winding apparatus, for example as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,932,462, issued Apr. 12, 1960 to Alden W. Nelson, the strands crossing from the full reel to the empty reel were permitted to become anchored to snaggers on a disc located adjacent to the inside heads of the reel. In this apparatus provision was made for winding a portion of the strand first on an extension of the hub or barrel of the reel.
In other more recent winding apparatuses, a separate snagger and machine reel assembly have been fitted onto the inner ends of the shafts supporting each reel and a random amount of strand has been wound on the machine reel at that point. One problem created by this type of mechanism, is that it requires the operator to remove the machine reel and snagger assembly before he can remove the filled reel of strand, thus necessitating unnecessary handling of a very heavy piece of the winding mechanism. Also the random amount of wire wound on the machine reel leads to waste on some reels in order to ensure a minimum on all.